Cape boomtown! 2017 produces R24-billion in property investments

16 May 2018 - 10:29
By Bobby Jordan

Cape Town.
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iSTOCK

The dams are almost empty‚ most people don’t bath‚ and even the mayor struggles to hold on to her job – but central Cape Town is still the place to be‚ according to the annual State of Cape Town Central City Report.

Property investment‚ total residential sales and average sale price all increased during 2017 despite stiff economic headwinds and declining figures in many other urban areas‚ according to the report by the Cape Town Central Improvement District (CCID)‚ released on Wednesday.

The total number of new developments in the city centre jumped to 48 from just 10 in 2012‚ with a concomitant increase in new investment of R23.954-billion.

CCID chairman Rob Kane said the amount of new investment could see the value of property in the area doubling within the next five to 10 years.

“We know there is already more (investment) in the pipeline‚” Kane said in a press statement.

The CCID report‚ now in its sixth edition‚ aims to reflect the economic climate in the CBD. The latest results suggest Cape Town’s downtown is performing well relative to the rest of the country in all sectors – commercial‚ retail and residential.

Carola Koblitz‚ CCID communications manager and the editor of the report‚ said: “We are particularly heartened that retail is doing well in the central city as we know it’s a tough economy out there.”

Koblitz singled out the East City precinct‚ which lies between the Grand Parade and Roeland Street and is known as Precinct 4‚ as a welcome success story: “A year ago‚ when we released the 2016 report‚ we called Precinct 4 ‘the precinct of possibilities’.

“Fast forward a year after publishing this information in the 2016 report‚ and suddenly the East City is blossoming. Residential blocks are seeing larger numbers of owner-occupiers and the rand per square metre is climbing to match that being achieved in the rest of the CBD. Properties that for many years have been no more than warehouses and storage facilities are turning into trendy shops‚ office complexes and entertainment venues. Precinct 4 is now officially booming‚” Koblitz said.

Some of the key property indicators include:

The average overall sales price of CBD residential units increased 18% to R2.769-million in 2017 compared with R2.337-million in 2016;

The average rental price of a studio/bachelor flat increased to R12‚186 a month in 2017 compared with R10‚608 in 2016;

The average rental price of a two-bedroom flat increased to R24‚967; and

The average rental price of a one-bedroom flat decreased slightly to R14‚747.

The report notes a slight increase in office vacancies‚ up from 9.4% in 2016 to 9.9% in 2017. There had also been a slight decline in retail occupancy‚ from 94% in 2016 to 93% in 2017.